1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic timepieces and more particularly to an electronic timepiece which is provided with a control circuit receiving as an input a time correction signal from a frequency divided circuit and delivering an output for driving an electro-mechanical converter so as to correct times of the timepiece.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional timepiece provided with hands for displaying times, it has been the common practice to rotate a winding crown of an exteriorly operable member and cause the amount of rotation thereof to be mechanically transmitted so as to set times of the timepiece. Such conventional electronic timepiece has the drawbacks that if much amount of correction must be effected, the rotation of winding crown results in the fatigue of one's fingers, that if use is made of a dial provided with graduations whose number is small, it is required to set those times with one's eyes which are not defined by the graduations, thereby rendering the time set inaccurate, that the time setting mechanism is complex in construction and requires a wide space, that the winding crown is required to be arranged in a limited plane and height and hence the arrangement cannot be changed for one kind of timepiece, and that provision must be made of a brake mechanism for preventing that extra gear train which is irrelevant to the time setting operation from being rotated.
In order to obviate the drawback which has been encountered with a conventional hand setting mechanism which makes use of a clutch wheel and setting wheel, an electrically hand setting mechanism for driving an electro-mechanical converter by means of a correction signal has also been proposed. Such conventional electrically hand setting mechanism can omit a hand setting back mechanism, slip coupling for a cannon pinion, brake for preventing rotation of a gear train, etc., and hence is very reliable in operation and can easily be manufactured. But, such conventional electrically hand setting mechanism makes use of push buttons and switches and hence has the drawback that its operation is very troublesome for persons accustomed to the conventional winding crown.